Method and system for improving barcode scanner performance
A barcode scanner should output one scanned result per scanned item at checkout. Scanners with large scan areas and multiple scan lines may scan an item more than once as it is dragged through the scan area during the checkout process. A timeout period, during which duplicate scans are ignored, may prevent duplicate scans from being transmitted. Scanners with integrated weight scales may require the use of the scan area for a weight measurement. As a result, weighed items may linger in the scan area longer than the regular timeout period and may be re-scanned. The invention embraces a method and system for mitigating this problem by using information from the scanned barcode and information from the scale to affect how duplicate barcode scans are handled for items requiring a weight measurement and not adversely affected with speed of input as may result with gating and virtual gating with disable/enable scanning commands.
1. A computer implemented method for ignoring duplicate barcode scans during a weight measurement, the method comprising:
receiving an item's first barcode scan from a barcode scanner communicatively coupled to a computer;
determining from the first barcode scan the scanned-item's type;
initiating a scale-timeout mode if the scanned-item's type requires a weight measurement using a scale communicatively coupled to the computer;
ignoring, while in the scale-timeout mode, a subsequent barcode scan if the subsequent barcode scan matches at least part of an item in an ignore list stored in a computer-readable memory; and
ending the scale-timeout mode if a scale signal from the scale indicates that the scale is idle.
2. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the items on the ignore list are removed from the list after a period of time.
3. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 comprising initiating a regular mode if either (i) the scale-timeout mode has ended or (ii) the scanned-item's type requires no weight measurement.
4. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the scale signal comprises a weight measurement.
5. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the scale signal comprises a scale-stability message.
6. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the scale positions items within the barcode scanner's field of view during a weight measurement.
7. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein a point-of-sale system comprises the scale, the barcode scanner, and the computer.
8. The computer implemented method according to claim 1 , wherein the ending the scale-timeout mode comprises starting a scale timeout period that must expire before ending the scale-timeout period.
9. A computer implemented method for ignoring multiple barcode scans of the same item, the method comprising:
receiving an item's first barcode scan from a barcode scanner communicatively coupled with a computer;
determining from the first barcode scan the scanned-item's type;
initiating a scale-timeout period if the scanned-item's type is a variable-weight type;
starting a scale-timeout mode wherein subsequent barcode scans are compared with the first barcode scan and any subsequent barcode scans that match, at least part of, the first barcode scan are ignored;
obtaining, a scale signal from a scale communicatively coupled to the computer;
if the scale signal indicates that the scale is active, restarting the scale-timeout period and remaining in scale-timeout mode; and
if the scale signal indicates that the scale is not active, ending the scale-timeout mode after a delay.
10. The computer implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the step of ending the scale-timeout mode comprises resetting scale-timeout mode settings.
11. The computer implemented method according to claim 10 , wherein the scale-timeout mode settings comprise a list of scanned barcodes.
12. The computer implemented method according to claim 9 comprising initiating a regular mode if either (i) the scale-timeout mode has ended or (ii) the scanned-item's type is not a variable-weight type.
13. The computer implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the barcode scanner and the scale are positioned respectively so the item rests within the barcode scanner's field of view during a weight measurement.
14. The computer implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the scale signal comprises a weight measurement and the scale signal indicates that the scale is active when (i) the weight measurement is stable and (ii) the weight measurement is greater than about zero.
15. The computer implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the scale signal comprises a weight measurement and the scale signal indicates that the scale is active when the weight measurement is unstable.
16. The computer implemented method according to claim 9 , wherein the scale signal comprises a weight measurement and the scale signal indicates that the scale is not active when (i) the weight measurement is stable and (ii) the weight measurement is about zero.
17. A scanner/scale system comprising:
a barcode scanner for scanning barcodes of items within a field of view;
a scale for measuring the weight of items placed on a measurement platform, said measurement platform configured to position the items within the barcode scanner's field of view;
a computing device having a processor communicatively coupled to the barcode scanner and the scale, the processor capable of executing a barcode-ignore program stored on a computer readable memory, said computer readable memory accessible to the computing device;
wherein said barcode-ignore program configures the processor for (i) receiving a scanned barcode from the barcode scanner, (ii) determining an item type from the scanned barcode, (iii) receiving a scale signal from the scale, and (iv) using the item type and the scale signal to adjust a scale-timeout mode, wherein said scale-timeout mode comprises a timeout period during which repetitively scanned barcodes are ignored.
18. The scanner/scale system according to claim 17 , wherein the scale-timeout mode adjustment comprises restarting the timeout period.
19. The scanner/scale system according to claim 17 , wherein the scale-timeout mode adjustment comprises ending the scale-timeout mode.